HIL COOK BLOG

Our lovely lea's work this week and what the teams been doing

Lea has had a crazy busy week this past week what with doing the Hurricanes commercial, photos shoots for Mike Hayden of Jet photography and or course gorgeous brides.
Thought we better show case our wee star and what she has been up to.

Oh is that leas tongue hanging on the ground while she touches up yet another lovely sportsman

gorgeous bride courtesy of Jet Photography

At the end of Lea's Hurricane shoot, she managed to get a pic of our latest fan with Solution buds, Victor Vito, and no he doesn't have a square head, its our lovely Leas fab photography work. Maybe let Mike do that photography for you Lea :)

Hils x

Whats Ange been up to?
Ange has been flat out on the Gibson group TV show coming your way soon. Head down bum up is our Ange, working every God given hour but the light at the end of the tunnel is on the horizon. She will be coming up for air any day now and back on the bridal roller coaster. Yippee

What Nat up to?
Nat has been a busy beaver also, for those of you that manage to get into Kirks, you will see our youngest member Nat. Nat blesses the store with her remarkable knowledge and talented artistry in Bobbi Brown quite often at the moment. Bobbi Brown contracts our girls on and off through out the year to help out when busy, they have just lost a staff member lately so have been lucky enough to have Nat on hand to help them out with her expertise. Nat also has been doing weddings this week but I don't have any pics for you just yet ( watch this space).

What Hil been up too ?

Lots of crazy meetings with Grow wellington and Creative HQ with my wonderful side kick Ange, wedding trial after wedding trial, Shoot for Terralink, Rammy's wedding in the weekend and a Fishead shoot. The Fishead shoot I might add, had my wee boy Jaxson (6) modelling for the fashion pages coming out at the end of March. He was a star!

Hils x

Gourmet cupcakes, chocolate treats & mouthwatering things

Last night we did a wee demo of our work and showcased our solution buds to a group of women on a girls night out.
It was a bit of a giggle but while we were there we met the most amazing baker of fabulous treats, the lovely Zelda Dahya. Now I kid you not, these were like no other treats I have ever stumbled on before, mouth watering pastries, gourmet cupcakes, light & and fluffy cheesecakes, and my favorite,... the most out of this world truffles made in white chocolate and dark. Everything had been lovingly baked into tiny samples so greedy pigs like me could eat not just eat 1 but several treats. Oh my goodness, I was in tasy treat heaven. Now I seriously suggest if any of you brides are looking for something a little different, a little fabulous, a little bit 5 star and custom made, check out Zeldas site for any artistic treat you can think of!! She gets my vote!

I was very lucky to be given a plate full of those mouth watering numbers at the end of the night and they got a huge thumbs up from the 6 year old this morning and hubby :) Thanks Zelda, it was lovely to meet you and your friend.

Hils x

A few secret tips!

Minimise the appearance of large pores with a facial of egg white and honey.

The best kept Hollywood secret... Plastic surgeons can actually tell if you sleep on your side or front by the wrinkles on your face. If you sleep on your back, it can help with softening wrinkles and even them out a little.

Dark circles under eyes? peel and grate a small spud, pop the grated spud into a light gauze ( cheese cloth is good) and apply under the eyes. Lay back and put your feet up for approx 20 Min's and chill. It's a remarkable difference.

If you cant afford the fabulous Moroccan oil to tame the frizzies, try a few drops of coconut oil and smooth through from roots to the ends. Works a dream.

Tell us if you have any secret tips that work for you?? email us on hil@hilcook.co.nz and we will do our best to get them up on our blog.

Cocoa Berry designs- specialists in Wedding stationery

I get lots of brides asking if I could recommend any great people who specialise in wedding stationery so I decided to add these guys to our blog. Not only do they do wedding stationery, but all other types now too. Cocoa Berry designs have the option of tailor made stationery or off the rack and I can tell you, both are stunning. Check out the link added

Cocoa Berry Design - specialists in wedding stationery creation
Looking for NZ wedding invitations...? Cocoa Berry Designs ensure all your wedding stationery needs are met to the highest standard.
They specialise in fresh and stylish wedding invitations and wedding stationery that can be adapted to your own style and theme of your big day.

Cocoa Berry offers a full range of wedding stationery: save the dates; invitations; RSVPs; order of service; menus; place names; table numbers; seating charts; and thank you cards - all following your chosen theme.

They offer either "off the rack" where you can choose off the website from their extensive folio or "tailor made" designs where you can influence the style and theme.

They are based in both Auckland and Wellington - however Cocoa berry, can cater to all areas of NZ.
Have a look around and let them help you with your wedding invitations.

Hils x

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Check out Cocoa Berry Blog

Lush Lashes promotion for Valentines day. Get in fast!

Hi from Lush Lashes

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching – what a great day for your eyelashes to look their gorgeous best!

We have a lovely gift for you – just make your Valentine’s Day booking before the end of February and we will give you a box of Hil Cook Solution Buds. If you haven’t already seen these, they are ideal for your handbag for removing makeup blunders or just to “tidy up” after work before the Hot Valentine’s Date!

Just give us a call or reply to this email – mention “Valentine’s Day Promotion”, and we will help you look fabulous on this most romantic day of the year.

Cheers

Vanessa O'Reilly

Managing Director

LUSH LASHES LIMITED

0275 533 793

04 212 6897

0800 LUSHLASHES

www.lushlashes.co.nz

A day at the races

Susan and I were awake at the crack of dawn this morning. I greeted her in the studio where we both sipped on yummy lattes and discussed the look she wanted to have for the Wellington cup at Trentham races today. Susan is one of my super favorite clients who turns up time and time again to be made up for all manner of events, the thing that makes working with her such a joy, is that every single event Susan attends, she has a complete new look for me to tackle. Today we went for a vintage look with a modern twist. bubbling finger waves, an interesting side bun and a quirky hot pink fascinator. We went for the Rihana hot pink lip, doe inky eyes, long corner single lashes and pale shimmery pink shadow with a plum contour. She wore Bobbi brown's gorgeous rose Shimmer brick on her cheeks and matched the look up with vintage lace gloves, a hot pink dress, hot pink shoes and clutch.

Susan looked so hot to trot that when a film producer came to our house this morning, he caught a glimpse of the sassy lass and left his number for her. (he he) I think maybe I need to start up a match making business. Think Susan may have thought he was a bit of all right too :)

Susan entered in the Stella fashion award and became a finalist. We think she's a winner!

Hil x

One of this weeks gorgeous brides.

Here are some pics of one of our gorgeous brides today. Penny had a fantastic hair style that was a real breakfast with Tiffany look, she had a french roll at the back and then intricate detail through top the side. Penny hired one of our stunning vintage brooches to go with her do and wore a beautiful dress from Brides on Thorndon. Penny's photographer Jenny Siaosi, was the photographer of choice for the day and the reception and place of getting ready was at the lovely Wellesly boutique hotel in Wellington.

HIL COOK SOLUTION BUDS - 60% OFF PROMOTION

Hil cook solution buds

***A MASSIVE 60% OFF***

First 100 to click this LINK http://www.smallfish.co.nz/hil-cook/shop/-60-off-promotion.aspx

Retailed normally at $13.00... today only $6.00 !!

Limited to one pack per person, New Zealand only promo !

Check out how they work below in our youtube video or jump on our webiste www.hilcook.co.nz
http://www.youtube.com/user/hilcook?feature=mhum

Grab n Run... Face book, twitter and email ya mates

Hil Cook Solution buds are the fast, easy way to touch up or remove your makeup, without needing a bag full of products and wipes. Simply remove the tip, watch the solution flow down into the bud, and replace the tip again. Use the solution end to clean up smudges or remove your makeup complete makeup, Use the dry end to wipe away the residue. Great for HD filming and sensitive eyes. Hil Cook Solution buds can be purchased on our E-Commerce store www.hilcook.co.nz or Pharmacies and selected New Worlds.

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Danielle Hayes winner of NZ Top Model loves Solution buds

Danielle Hayes - Winner of NZ Top Model

Big thanks Michelle Perry for sending us this piccie :)

How to get well defined eyebrows

how to get well-defined, well-groomed brows
1. Brush your eyebrows straight up with an eyebrow brush. Using small straight scissors, carefully trim any hairs that are curly or too long. Then brush the brows back into their natural shape.
2. Hold a pencil along the side of your nose to ensure that the inner edge of your brow lines up with the inside corner of your eye.
3. Move the pencil so that it intersects with your iris. The arch of your brow should line up with the pencil.
4. Angle the pencil from the outside edge of your nose to the outer corner of your eye to determine where your brow should end.
5. Tweeze where necessary and fill in with a soft pencil or powder.
6. Brush with an eyebrow brush and apply eyebrow gel ( Bobbi brown has a great brow gel) to keep strays in place. You're done!

contouring lesson for the round shaped face

Contour to your temples, cheeks and jawline to create the illusion of an oval.

Highlight your forehead,under your eyes and your chin to draw attention to the centre of your face.

Contouring for round shape faces

Hils x

Behind the scenes with fashion pages of Fishead mag

The latest Fishead fashion pages are phenomenal if I may say so myself. Samantha Hannah (stylist and beauty editor), once again out did herself with her slick styles, as did Tim Watson ( International Photographer extraordinaire) with his artistic eye for lighting and getting the shots just so.
I joined in doing the hair and makeup and together, our wee dream team once again made magic across the pages of Fishead. Our model Zoe, sizzled with Hotness and drew on her acting talents to get herself right into character, in fact she was sooooo good at playing the hot chick that poor Micheal (male model) was getting a bit of a sweat on and who could blame him . Speaking of Micheal, this was his first shoot and for a freshman, wowza, he did fab and I think you will agree he looked fab too! I'm sure it wasn't hard for Zoe to act out she was hot for him. Kitchen n things lent us their venue for the evening to do the shoot which gave us all the gorgeous nooks and crannies for the perfect shot. Check out the unedited behind the scenes pics below. Hils x

Zoe has on Nga Waiatas rings on. I got one for Christmas and are my new found love !

Tim Watson Photographer

How hot is this suit. I sooo want my hubby to get one!

Tim doing his thing!

latest Fishead shoot

For those of you that have not seen the latest Fishead mag, it has just hit the shelves and packed to the rafters of quirky, interesting Wellingtonian stuff. Once again, we had the pleasure of doing the hair and makeup for the front cover and the fabulous fashion pages. Here are some of the behind the scenes.

Hair and makeup by Hil Cook & Ange Duncan

International extraordinaire Photographer Tim Watson, our models and Ange doing final checks.

Hils x

Latest brides

Well, wedding season is totally in full bloom. I can hardly move with out brides on the land line, cell and email all trying madly to get booked in for their special day.
This weeks bride is Naomi who is just a delight! Naomi was one of those lovely brides that when she got nervous she talked and giggled non stop. Her bridal party were also all such lovely ladies and a pleasure to spend the day with. Pics below :) Hair and makeup by Hil Cook and Lea Hoare

How to clean lippy out of your lip brushes.

I have just been cleaning my brushes and though of a tip that you all need to know.... How to clean a lip brush.

For those of you that use lip brushes, you will know how hard it is to get all your lippy out of your lip brush when cleaning them. Isopropyl or even hot soapy water wont do it, so what does I hear you ask??
Its as easy as opening you kitchen cupboard, getting out the olive oil, applying a little on a handy towel and working your brush back and forth until all that colour is worked out of your brush. Once all colour is out, either wash in warm soapy water or dip in Isopropyl (100% alcohol found in your local chemist) and now your lippy brush will be just like new :)
Hils x

Look at this pic and see how they have used highlight around the cupids bow and heading up the two lines above the lip to create the illusion of extra pout. Simple but effective and cheaper than the Caci clinic :)